4 fitness mistakes & how to solve them for ultimate results

Speding time in a gym for 50+ hours a week as a personal trainer was much as a daily ongoing study in human behavior for me. I could watch thousands of people a week come and get their workout on. Watch what they do, one after the other, day after day. The majority of people I saw were making major mistakes in the gym, but seemed very unaware. It is extremely important to not only do the movement practice, but do it with purpose and intent. Weather you are currently making them yourself, or working out and could become victim at some point, here are the common 4 fitness mistakes how to solve them for ultimate results .

Not Enough time.

As with anything, time is of the essence. Contrary to popular belief, one does not have to spend hours a day to maintain a fit lifestyle. (3-4) one hour resistance/movement sessions and (2) 20 minute cardio sessions is all it takes for most people if, that is a big IF you train smart. Mix up your workouts and push a little harder on your cardio. Try adding circuit training to your weight sessions and high intensity interval cardio activities. Make the most of your sessions and you will be able to dedicate that extra time to other things. There are 168 hours in a week, fitness only takes 5!

Not Having a Plan

One of the things that should be most important to you (your body and it’s health, duh) and you have no idea what you need to do to take care of it physically? Going to the gym to just walk around and grab whatever you feel like working on for the day will not get spectacular results. Without a plan, sessions end with the guys bench pressing and woman spending countless boring hours on the treadmill. Get on the internet and download some actual workouts. Write them down, or store them on your phone and do them to the “T” for your next workout. Write down what weights you lifted and how many reps. Not only do you now know what you will do in the gym next time, you will now have a baseline started for your progress tracking.

Working Out Too Much

If you are currently working out, have you ever gotten to a point where you just feel tired and you can’t seem to loose any more weight, (or add muscle if that is your goal)? Chance’s are you are working out too much. Yes, there is a thing and more is not better when it comes to exercise. Just as important as the act of working out is the act of recovery. If you are training smart (hopefully not falling victim to any of the problems listed here), you are maximizing the output of your body in every training session. That’s great, and ultimately the goal that should be accomplished every time. The next day that soreness in your muscles is your bodies way of telling you that it is doing its best to heal all the damage caused by the previous training session. The amount of time it can take for this to happen can depend not only on the individual, but many other factors. With that being said, a general rule of thumb is if you are sore, take a break and let the body sort itself out.

Not eating enough

Much like your car, your body needs a certain amount of fuel (food) to make it run smoothly. If you are trying to drive 400 miles, can you possibly make it on 200 miles worth of fuel? While diets remain a hot button topic, many experts can agree that you will neither be able to gain muscle or lose weight if you don’t have enough energy for the body to help fuel and recover. With most of my clients that don’t have specific dietary needs, we set a baseline (resting metabolic rate) for calories at their weight x 10. There are many ways online that can help you can calculate this, but for best results I recommend that you record what you eat for a week and have a talk with a nutrition specialist, a doctor, or anyone else who specializes in nutrition and diets. Find out if you are truly eating as many (or many less) calories as you should be.

Fitness is much more than the act of working out. The more of these elements you can add to your daily routine will not only allow you a few extra hours a week, but finally help you attain goals you always dreamed of.

"Those who want to live meaningfully and well must help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all"